Basketball roundup: Big Sky girls bounce Wolfpack

The No. 5-ranked Glacier girls couldn't break through an aggressive Missoula Big Sky zone defense on Saturday, losing at home to the Eagles 44-36.

Glacier started off with a spark, taking a 15-4 advantage after eight minutes, but had trouble adjusting when Big Sky (7-9 overall, 4-4 Western AA) switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense in the second quarter.

"They made an adjustment and we struggled to score," Glacier coach Kris Salonen said. "It was a little bit of an offensive struggle tonight."

The Wolfpack scored just two points in the second quarter and struggled to get any offense going outside. The girls shot just 10 free throws in the game, unable to get any penetration into the zone.

"We got it inside to Cassidy Hashley," Salonen said. "It was pretty tough to attack it any other way."

The Pack (9-6, 4-4) made a run in the third quarter but made some mistakes down the stretch that doomed its comeback.

"We had some key turnovers and missed bunnies in the fourth quarter," Salonen said.

Hashley led the Pack with 14 points. Nicole Heavirland scored 12. Elle Tinkle scored 15 points to lead Big Sky.

Big Sky 4 11 17 12 - 44

Glacier 15 2 13 6 - 36

BIG SKY - Elle Tinkle 5 5-7 15, Hannah Moreau 4 0-0 8, Kendra Joyce 4 0-0 8, Kristen Daugherty 2 0-0 6, Kelsey Donnelly 2 0-0 4, Dani Baker 0 2-2 2, Anna Johnson 0 1-2 1.

GLACIER - Emily Gilbertson 0 1-2 1, Kirstyn Haugenoe 2 0-0 4, Cassidy Hashley 4 6-7 14, Nicole Heavirland 5 0-0 12, Amy Lybeck 1 1-1 3, Dayna Niebaum 1 0-0 2.

Columbia Falls 55, Whitefish 22

WHITEFISH - Ashlee Brewer had her second-best offensive outing of the season, pouring in a game-high 18 points, but it was not enough as Columbia Falls claimed the rivalry victory.

Hope Burlage netted 17 points for Columbia Falls (6-11, 3-4) and Ciera Finberg had 14.

Brewer was 6 for 8 shooting at the free throw line. The Bulldogs (1-15, 1-5), as a team, went 7 for 10 to 21 for 31 for Columbia Falls.

Columbia Falls 14 8 15 20 - 55

Whitefish 2 11 6 4 - 22

COLUMBIA FALLS - Ciera Finberg 14, Allie Dierenfield 1, Kathryn Jetty 2, Hope Burlage 17, Madison Sandefer 6, Cortney White 7, Winter Kemppainen 2, Haley Belgarde 2, Shannon Hay 6.

WHITEFISH - Ashlee Brewer 18, Ashley O'Dell 2, Simone Craft 2, Melissa Poe 1.

Bigfork 54,

Thompson Falls 18

BIGFORK - Bigfork wrapped up the regular season District 7B title, beating Thompson Falls.

The Valkyries got on Thompson Falls early, outscoring the Hawks 25-6 in the first quarter. Tough defense allowed the girls to coast to the finish, allowing just five points combined in the second and third quarters.

Taylor Peck scored 17 points to lead the Vals (15-3, 7-1). Melissa VanDerveer had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Thompson Falls 6 3 2 7 - 18

Bigfork 25 8 12 9 - 54

Thompson Falls - Logan Beckman 8, Allison Vaught 6, Kelsey Fitchett 4.

BIGFORK - Taylor Peck 17, Melissa VanDerveer 12, Tessa Robertson 10, Mckinze Shults 5, Stevi Siloti 4, Shelby Scoggins 4, Riley Coleman 2.

FV Homeschool 27, Hellgate Sophs 16

MISSOULA - Flathead Valley Homeschool went 10 for 19 shooting at the charity stripe and Maggie Rajkowski finished with a team-high eight points in the nonconference victory.

FVHS (21-11) led 6-4 in a very slow-moving first half.

FV Homeschool 4 2 4 17 - 27

Hellgate Sophs 0 4 6 6 - 16

FLATHEAD VALLEY HOMESCHOOL - Erin Donahue 4, Mariah Kiehn 4, Mel Sprunger 7, Julie Bowerman 4, Maggie Rajkowski 8.

MISSOULA HELLGATE SOPHS - McKenna Gagner 3, Ellie Arledge 4, Alice Boyer 2, Taylor Chlarson 2, Katie Wills 2, Kenora Eensch 3.

Polson 48, Libby 30

LIBBY - Polson rolled to its fourth straight win, defeating Libby.

The Pirates (13-3, 6-1), got ahead early, leading 13-4 after eight minutes and 34-12 at halftime.

Riley Kenney scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Pirates. Anna DiGiallonardo scored 13 points.

Hannah England led the Loggers (4-13, 1-5) with seven.

Polson 13 21 5 9 - 48

Libby 4 8 10 8 - 30

POLSON - Macall Banner 1, Mariah Hamel 9, T Bauer 2, Anna DiGiallonardo 13, Riley Kenney 16, Hallie Hovenkotter 1, Heidi Rausch 4, Shelbi Mallon 2

LIBBY - Hannah England 7, Jenny Johnson 2, Hailey Craig 6, Shyla Stevenson 4, Taylor Quinn 5, Becca Kyriss 4, Kim Tangen 2.

Sentinel 60, Flathead 30

Visiting Missoula Sentinel defeated Flathead (7-9, 2-6) in a Western AA contest.

Tess Brenneman finished with 13 points for the Bravettes.

Sentinel 10 9 27 14 - 60

Flathead 10 8 6 6 - 30

MISSOULA SENTINEL - Olivia Roberts 6-11 13-3 16, Elly Jones 3-4 1-4 7, Liz Harper 6-7 3-4 15, D.J. Reinhardt 3-14 2-3 8, Kennedy Fulbright 1-5 2-2 4, Lexi Steele 1-1 0-0 3, Sam Harper 1-1 1-3 3, Darbi Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Amanda Bear Medicine 1-3 2-2 4, Kayla Martin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-47 14-21 60.

FLATHEAD - Emma Andrews 2-6 0-1 4, Tess Brenneman 4-13 0-2 13, Brittany Earnest 0-6 1-2 1, Jenessa Heine 2-5 0-3 4, Ashley O'Dell 3-4 3-4 9, Megan Jones 1-2 1-2 3, Emily Russell 0-2 1-2 1, Kelsey Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Malia Ozegovich 0-1 0-0 0, Cassie Krueger 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 12-41 6-16 30.

3-point goals - Sentinel 2-9 (Steele 1-1, Roberts 1-3, Reinhardt 0-3, Fulbright 0-2), Flathead 0-7 (Earnest 0-3, Andrews 0-3, Ozegovich 0-1). Total fouls - Sentinel 15, Flathead 18. Fouled out - none. Rebounds - Sentinel 32 (L.Harper 6, Bearmedicine 6, Roberts 6), Flathead 18 (Heine 5). Turnovers - Sentinel 20, Flathead 19.

Boys

Glacier 54, Big Sky 38

MISSOULA - Fifth-ranked Glacier bolted to a 13-5 start en route to a 16-point Western AA victory over Missoula Big Sky.

Glacier (12-3, 6-2) was led offensively by Ryan Edwards, 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Evan Epperly, 10 points.

Tyler Thornock dropped in 12 points for Big Sky (1-15, 0-7).

The Wolfpack also clamped down defensively in the third period, holding the Eagles to four points.

"It was a great start," Glacier coach Mark Harkins said.

"We talked about starting fast today, setting the tone."

Glacier 13 14 16 11 - 54

Big Sky 5 11 4 18 - 38

GLACIER - Kyle Griffith 4 1-2 9, Evan Epperly 4 1-1 10, Colton Harkins 2 0-2 5, Sean Peters 2 0-0 4, Ryan Edwards 7 0-0 14, Andy Boyer 1 0-0 2, Reid Siderius 0 2-2 2, Logan Iverson 3 1-2 8. Totals 23 5-9 54.

BIG SKY - Cole Baker 3 0-0 6, Nico Graham 2 2-2 7, Tyler Thornock 1 7-8 12, Ryan Koster 1 2-3 4, Jesson Preston 3 1-2 9. Totals 11 12-15 38.

3-point goals - Glacier 3 (Iverson, Harkins, Epperly), Big Sky 4 (Preston 2, Thornock, Graham). Total fouls - Glacier 19, Big Sky 13. Fouled out - none.

Flathead 59, Sentinel 58

MISSOULA - Missoula Sentinel missed a shot at the buzzer, allowing Flathead to hold on for the one-point Western AA victory.

Flathead (8-8, 4-4) trailed 31-26 at the break.

Shea Schroeder tallied 13 points for Flathead.

Riley King topped Sentinel (5-12, 2-7) with 21 points.

Flathead 11 15 17 16 - 59

Sentinel 11 20 10 17 - 58

FLATHEAD - Matt Tokarz 3 0-1 6, Matt McLean 3 2-2 9, George Sherwood 3 0-0 7, Austin Jones 3 0-0 7, Shea Schroeder 5 3-7 13, Chris Cronk 2 3-5 7, Drew Crosby 1 0-0 3, Al Michael Olszewski 1 0-0 3, Nick James 1 2-2 4. Totals 22 10-17 59.

SENTINEL - Riley King 8 2-2 21, Derek Colberg 3 4-5 11, Nate Jewett 3 4-4 10, Brad Corntassel 3 2-4 8, Alec Bray 2 0-0 6, Sam Hanich 1 0-0 2, Jason Neibergs 0 0-0 0, Austin Violette 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 12-15 58.

3-point goals - Flathead 5 (Sherwood 2, McLean, Crosby, Olszewski), Sentinel 6 (King 3, Colberg, Bray). Total fouls - Flathead 18, Sentinel 17. Fouled out - Schroeder, McLean, Corntassel. Rebounds - Flathead 15 (James 5), Sentinel 28 (King 9, Jewett 9).

Columbia Falls 61, Whitefish 49

WHITEFISH - Fourth-ranked Columbia Falls (14-3, 7-0) jumped out to a 15-4 lead in a Northwestern A victory over rival Whitefish (9-7, 4-2).

Austin Barth tallied 19 points for Columbia Falls. Anthony Correa dropped in 14 and Luke Kazlauskas 10.

Gage Vasquez scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter for Whitefish.

Columbia Falls was 15 for 18 shooting at the charity stripe. Whitefish was 8 for 13.

Columbia Falls 15 13 19 14 - 61

Whitefish 4 13 16 16 - 49

COLUMBIA FALLS - Alex Presnell 4, Luke Kazlauskas 10, Anthony Correa 14, Parker Johnson 8, Brian Marcille 2, Austin Barth 19, Jared Trinastich 4.

WHITEFISH - Jake Slaybaugh 14, Bryce Wehrli 2, Logan Harwood 4, Gage Vasquez 17, Cooper Olson 4, Jace Kalbfleisch 8.

Libby 70, Polson 58

LIBBY - Jared Winslow scored 24 points and the Loggers exploded for 32 as a team in the fourth quarter, out-distancing Polson (7-9, 2-4) for a Northwestern A victory.

The game, which was close throughout, broke open in the fourth quarter as the Loggers were able to capitalize from the free throw line. Libby (4-12, 1-6) shot 16 of 24 from the charity stripe in the fourth.

Cody Fischer topped Polson with 17 points.

Polson 11 13 11 23 - 58

Libby 13 12 13 32 - 70

POLSON - Cody Fischer 17, Vince DiGiallonardo 14, Zach Camel 13, Ian Laimbeer 5, Riley Sampson 4, Brady Hislop 3, Will Davey 2.

LIBBY - Jared Winslow 24, Josh Foote 17, Kraig Nelson 10, Micah Germany 6, Elias Lapka 5, Nolan Broden 5, Barak Lapka 3.

Bigfork 55,

Thompson Falls 46

THOMPSON FALLS - Sixth-ranked Bigfork rallied in the second half for a District 7B victory over Thompson Falls.

Bigfork (15-3, 8-0) tallied 32 points in the final 16 minutes to 18 for Thompson Falls.

Jackson Boese led Bigfork offensively with 16 points.

Cody Dopps was next with 12 and Austin Jordt finished with 10.

Bigfork 11 12 19 13 - 55

Thompson Falls 12 16 7 11 - 46

BIGFORK - Austin Jordt 10, Ian Lorang 6, Cody Dopps 12, Jackson Boese 16, Dillon Fraley 2, Connor Coleman 9.

THOMPSON FALLS - Jaron Laws 16, John Lloyd 9, Garrett Reinschmidt 13, Ross Dalby 2, A.J. Pavlik 6.